Escort - Passport 8500 X50 Radar/Laser Detector
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Specifications
- Warranty Terms - Parts: 1 year limited
- Warranty Terms - Labor: 1 year limited
- Height: 1-1/4"
- Width: 2-9/10"
- Depth: 5-3/10"
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Passport 8500 X50 Red designed for the driving enthusiast, the Passport 8500 X50 delivers the best possible protection in its class. In test after test, the Passport 8500 X50 comes out on top. Digital signal processing (DSP) provides maximum range, with minimum false alarms.
Product Features
Frequency Band: K-band 24.15 GHz ± 100 MHz, Ka Band 34.70 GHz ± 1.30 GHz, Laser, X-band 10.53 GHz ± 25 MHz
Operating Mode: City, Highway
Display Type: Ultra-Bright Matrix Display with 280 LEDs
Input Voltage Range: 12 V DC
Dimensions: 1.3" Height x 2.9" Width x 5.3" Length
Package Contents: Passport 8500 X50 Radar/Laser Detector Comprehensive Owner's Manual Quick-Release Windshield Mount Coiled Smart Cord Quick Reference Card Travel Case
Standard Warranty: 1 Year Limited
Ratings & Reviews
88% of customers would recommend this product to a friend (51 out of 58)
Best Buy Customer Reviews
(51 out of 58)
very poor range1
Posted by:
ndpsvt from Phoenix, Az on
03/29/2013
Used it on a road trip from Phoenix, Az to Oklahoma city it has been the worst radar detector I've ever owned wouldn't pick up police till I was a few hundred feet from them... maybe I got a defective one but I won't be trying another. ..0 out of 0 found this review helpful.
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Best detector for the money!5
Posted by:
BigJ904 from on
03/22/2013
Only this missing is the GPS but for me that is nothing I would need. Has the same radar as the GPS model just not $500.0 out of 0 found this review helpful.
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Everything I was looking for.5
Posted by:
MTBjr from San Antonio, Tx on
01/25/2013
Easy set up, easy to use. Has a mute button on the plug so I don't have to reach for the detector to hit mute. Picks up radar at a far distance.0 out of 0 found this review helpful.
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Excellent radar detector5
Posted by:
sorjal from on
11/02/2012
Overall a decent radar detector with decent range and sensitivity. There are some false signals that occur due to the increased sensitivity. You will need to adjust your driving habits, but I've have no situations where the radar location was not detected with some warning.3 out of 3 found this review helpful.
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Great radar detector, Plug it in and use it.4
Posted by:
KCCLongBall from Cincinnati on
09/06/2012
Overall very good product. Easy to use made of quality materials1 out of 3 found this review helpful.
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What can I say--it is great!5
Posted by:
tellingit from Cedar Park, Texas on
04/11/2012
Works like a charm. Easy set up and use. No down side at all2 out of 7 found this review helpful.
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Great Product but Get the 9500ix4
Posted by:
Zach123 from Framingham, MA on
03/14/2012
I've owned the 8500 X50 for over 5 years now and it has served in the 4 cars I've owned in that time (and still does). It's rather basic, but it's supposed to be. I leave it on highway (highest possible) sensitivity all the time so as to get better warning, but even in city mode it gets false hits galore.
My positive hits have come from as far as two miles out in the right area and I always get radar hits before I'm in the sights of the radar operator. In terms of radar detection the 8500 works as it should and it does get 360 degree hits.
The only serious drawback to this unit is the false hits. On the highway or in the country these are a non-issue. In town they'll drive you nuts. The extra $200 for the 9500ix gets you GPS-based tuning out of false hits after it sees them 3 times. I can't tell you how worth while that is. Save $200 more and get the 9500ix. If you absolutely can't, this unit is still worth its price.
I advise picking up the $20 suction mount from Escort. The factory mount works fine but it's cheap, allows the unit to bounce around a bit, and occasionally falls off on a really hot day.
Amateur users beware! Instant-on radar guns are hard to defend against. This unit will absolutely pick up an instant-on hit when the officer pulls the trigger, but if you're the only car on the road he's already got you by the time you hear the hit. This isn't a limitation with this unit, it is a fact of police radar. No detector can protect from IO radar if there isn't traffic ahead of you to get hit first (if there is, you hear them getting hit before you get in range).
ALSO, laser cannot be defended against with any detector. It is a narrow beam detection unit, which means you will only hear the hit if the laser gun is aimed directly at your car. By the time the alarm sounds, it's already too late. Only a laser jamming unit can help you with laser. The point is, if you have this and you're driving along and see an officer aiming what looks like a radar gun at traffic and you don't get a hit, it's probably laser/lidar and he just never aimed it at you (or you were close enough that he just hit your license plate and not the detector). I have received confirmed laser hits on my 8500 but in every case would have received a ticket if I'd been speeding.37 out of 44 found this review helpful.
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careful buying from best buy3
Posted by:
shaggymatt from sc pa on
02/15/2012
I had a 500 mile road trip for work so I picked one of these up after researching detectors. I've had Valentine 1's in the past but the New escort live was really intriguing. Went to my local store and the shelf marketing material reflected the 8500x50 Black model which was released Q3 of 2011. I used it on my trip, picked up 8-10 traps on my trip. In some cases the instant on barrages would have been too late if I was speeding. When I returned I called Escort and they verified that it was not the Black model. The sensitivity is supposed to be greatly improved in the Black model so I returned it.9 out of 12 found this review helpful.
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good radar detector, but...4
Posted by:
photoguy81 from Philadelphia area on
07/26/2011
i've been using an X50 for a few weeks now. mostly been disappointed, but i just figured out why. everything i've read has said to turn off the X-band due to the high number of false alarms from automatic doors. i complied, but found that i was passing speed traps without a single beep here in Pennsylvania. i've been playing it safe, watching my speed while i learn the ins and out of my Escort, thankfully.
i recently decided to try an experiment, and turned the X-band back on. i've had to put up with the frequent false alarms, but learned an important fact. everything i read on the matter stated that most police do not use X-band any more. that just is NOT true here in PA. it seems that PA State Troopers do still use the band, and this is not the only state.
in general, i think that the 8500 X50 is a good radar detector. the tone is loud enough to be heard over moderate music volume (and it has a headphone jack). it has a high level of customization available in the performance. and it can be easily read / understood by novice users, or set up to give experienced users additional information.
my advice is this:
1. make sure that ALL bands are turned on. the default for the X50 has at least POP turned off.
2. take a couple of weeks to learn / test your new detector. learn it's range for different bands especially.
3. if you have doubts about it working properly, exchange it. this is a sensitive piece of electronics, and there are probably going to be bad units. don't just blast it in a review because it didn't work for you. try a new one23 out of 30 found this review helpful.
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PULLED OVER TWICE IN THE SAME DAY !!1
Posted by:
GPFXX from Michigan on
06/02/2011
I purchased this Escort850 after owning an older escort a few years ago and never had a complaint.
I decided its first test was to be on our drive from central michigan to indianapolis for the indy500, 250 mile 3 hour trip.
Not even 1 hour into the drive I was surprised by seeing a michigan state cop hiding behind a bridge with radar gun out and the Escort only beeped a very dim warning signal, thankfully i wasnt speeding so I brushed off the warning.
A few minor warnings went off before arriving into indianapolis but they were usually weak and it also failed to warn me of another cop car.
the worst part of it all was on our way back I saw cop lights on my rear view mirror about half a mile back, i never though he was coming for me but as the cop car got closer.... YUP! pulled me over and he had clocked me at 87 on a 70mph zone, gave me a long talk and let me off with a warning, WHERE DID HE COME FROM?!! I DID NOT SEE HIM VISUALLY AND THE ESCORT850 NEVER WARNED ME!
about an hour and a half later, I was in a pack of speeding cars when we saw a cop car going the opposite way on the highway, we didnt think much of it until a mile after there were 3 cop cars ambushing us and signaling us to pull over, thankfully there were about 6 speeding cars and 3 cop cars, some cars pulled over and some didnt.... I DIDNT and i was FURIOUS at the fact that my $300 dollar Escort radar detector was officially USELESS.
I RETURNED IT AS SOON AS I GOT BACK AND I AM PURCHASING A VALENTINE 1 FOR MY ROAD TRIP FROM MICHIGAN TO TEXAS IN 2 WEEKS ! (its only $100 more than this one)
BEWARE OF THIS POOR RADAR DETECTOR !10 out of 83 found this review helpful.
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